News Article

Women's Rugby Sevens continues to grow

Rugby Sevens is continuing to grow in popularity in Australia with women’s training sessions now being hosted in Western Australia, NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

The new sessions will provide women across the country even greater access and opportunities to enjoy the newest Olympic Sport, Rugby Sevens.

The training sessions will provide extended opportunities for more women of all sporting backgrounds, age and ability to try their hand at the fast-paced, exciting game of Rugby Sevens.

The sessions follow four highly successful ‘Pathway To Gold’ trial days, run by ARU in Perth, Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane, that saw more than 650 women try their hand at Rugby Sevens.

The purpose of the ‘Pathway to Gold’ trials was to identify women who displayed the potential to play Rugby Sevens at the elite level and possibly represent Australia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The trials were attended by ARU High Performance coaches and provided an opportunity to introduce women of all ages and skill levels to Rugby Sevens, helping to grow awareness of the game.

More than 80 women were identified as having the potential to train with the Australian quad and were invited to attend a High Performance development camp at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

Off the back of the success of the ‘Pathway To Gold’ trials State Unions will hold a number of summer training programs starting in October and continuing through until early 2013.

Alongside the Pathway to Gold trials, the training programs act as a further incentive for women to get involved and develop a better understanding about Rugby Sevens.

The programs will also provide further opportunities to impress and be recognised by High Performance coaches.

All of those who were recently involved in the ‘Pathway to Gold’ trials are invited to be involved in the training sessions to hone their skills.

Australian Rugby Union Program Manager for Sevens and Women’s Rugby, Dale Roberson, said the state training series will help facilitate the growth of women’s Rugby Sevens across the country.

“These training sessions run by the State Unions will offer further access and opportunities for those that trialled and those who want to experience and play Rugby Sevens,” Mr Roberson said.

“The opportunity to be able to play for Australia is obviously an exciting prospect and one we are keen to provide as many women as possible with the chance to experience.

“We now have a squad of women to go to the AIS Development Camp from the recent trials, but there are many others who want to participate in an Olympic sport and Rugby Sevens provides that opportunity.

“The excitement and interest in Rugby Sevens for women is only going to continue to grow over the coming months and years.

“Even though the ‘Pathway To Gold’ trials are over we are still receiving enquiries about how women can get involved.

“The State Unions have been proactive in facilitating these new training sessions, which will continue to help increase awareness and participation of Rugby Sevens from the community level to the elite.”

Following on from the training sessions, State based Sevens competitions will take place from next year. These tournaments will assist State selection for the National Women’s Seven’s Championships in April 2013.

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